Google Cloud launches AI Agent Space amid growing competition

As we’ve covered at VentureBeat, the cloud computing wars are quickly morphing into the AI ​​wars, with leading cloud computing divisions like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). ) are rolling out new tools for customers to access, use, deploy, and build on a variety of AI models.

So it should come as no surprise to hear that this week Google Cloud has something new to offer. AI agent ecosystem program called AI representative area–

This initiative enables businesses to discover, deploy, and co-create AI agents designed to automate tasks. Improve customer experience and increase operational efficiency

With an increased focus on the enterprise, Google’s announcement makes it a major player alongside competitors like Microsoft, SAP, and Salesforce.

The Google ecosystem is built to help partners develop highly customizable AI agents by providing powerful tools and resources. Including early previews of Google’s AI technologies, direct support from the engineering team and best practices for improving development.

Additionally, Google said it will promote new agents through Google Cloud Marketplace to allow partners to scale the agents they create to new, interested audiences.

It makes sense and is a win-win for Google, showing that it has a robust catalog of agents for companies to choose from, and ideally, More users will come and use Google Cloud as a result.

Current agents built by organizations on Google AI and Google Cloud models

What’s interesting is that Google chose the AI ​​Agent Space announcement to highlight other agents. built internally by Google Cloud customers and partners, although most of these solutions are not yet available on the AI ​​Agent Space.

Presumably, Google wants to show what’s possible with its tools. and how businesses They can move their internal agents to AI Agent Space and sell them as SaaS solutions there.

Among them are:

• –Accenture It is transforming customer support at major retailers by offering convenient self-service options through virtual assistants. Enhance the overall customer experience
• Ben Support SEB’s wealth management department with AI agents that enhance conversations with end customers with suggested answers. and create call summaries that improve efficiency by 15%
• BCG Provides sales optimization tools to improve the efficiency and impact of insurance advisors.
• Cap Gemini Optimize the e-commerce experience by helping retailers accept customer orders through new revenue streams. and speed up the order-to-cash process for digital stores.
• enlightened person Help the legal team draft contracts Set a risk score and recommendations on how to optimize operational impact.
• Deloitte Offering agents a “Care Finder,” part of the Agent Fleet, helps care seekers find in-network providers, often in less than a minute. This is significantly faster than the average call time of 5-8 minutes.
• HCL Tech Helps predict and eliminate various types of defects. of production products with Insight, representative of production quality
• Infosys Optimizing digital marketing for leading consumer brand manufacturers It provides actionable insights into inventory planning, promotions, and product descriptions.
• PwC Use AI agent technology to help oncology clinics improve administrative work So that doctors can spend time with patients in the most appropriate way.
• TCS Help build context-based, personalized AI agents with enterprise-level knowledge to accelerate software development.
• ViPro Support national healthcare providers in using agent technology to develop and optimize contracts. Streamline complex and time-consuming tasks At the same time, accuracy is improved.–

Competing solutions from Microsoft, SAP and Salesforce

Google’s announcement comes on the heels of similarly positioned AI agent initiatives from competitors including Microsoft, with Copilot Studio emerging as a leader in the AI ​​agent space, with more than 100,000 organizations creating or editing AI agents since its launch at the Ignite conference. In November 2024, Microsoft announced an important update. This includes integration with 1,800 large language models (LLMs) in Azure, offering organizations unparalleled flexibility. automatic agent and multi-agent collaboration through architecture. “representative net”

This makes it a good choice for large organizations with complex IT landscapes.

Meanwhile, SAP recently updated its Joule AI assistant to offer collaborative AI agents designed to break down silos and integrate workflows across business functions. Joule agents work together to address challenges like disputes in Make payment or supply chain disruptions It leverages SAP’s deep integration with ERP, CRM and HR systems.

Additionally, Salesforce’s Agentforce, launching in September 2024, integrates AI agents into its expansive ecosystem. By leveraging Data Cloud to improve service, sales, and marketing functions.

While Microsoft and SAP focus on enterprise integration and cross-functional workflows, and Salesforce relies on low-code accessibility, Google stands out with its partner-powered flexibility and open ecosystem. By empowering partners to develop agents tailored to specific industries, Google fosters innovation while offering customers a wide range of solutions.

Google’s marketplace model ensures that businesses can choose from a variety of pre-built agents. Or work with a partner to create a customized solution.

This contrasts with Microsoft’s large-scale, infrastructure-driven approach and SAP’s process integration agents, making the Google ecosystem especially attractive to organizations with diverse and evolving needs.

In terms of raw numbers, Google’s AI Studio remains behind the competition. An announcement in a Google blog post states that AI Agent Space is now available to “solutions from select partners” and that the company “plans to add hundreds of additional AI agents in the coming months.”

But currently, a look at VentureBeat’s AI Agent Space reveals just 19 different agent models available. This is a far cry from the hundreds or thousands of cloud competitor solutions available.